Deodhar Trophy 2019 | India A knocked out after whopping 232-run loss to India C
India A was knocked out of the Deodhar Trophy after a whopping 232-run loss to India C on Friday, following up a 108-run loss against India B in the opening match yesterday. Set a massive total of 367 runs to win, India A collapsed before the off-spin of Jalaj Saxena, who finished with seven for 41.
India C skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bat first and along with Mayank Agarwal set up a massive 226-run partnership between them. Both Agarwal and Gill notched up fantastic centuries — Agarwal hitting a 111-ball 120 including 15 fours and a six, while Gill made 143 with 10 fours and six sixes — and laid the foundation. Then, in walked Suryakumar Yadav at No.4 and blasted away to 72 off just 29 balls with nine fours and four sixes, leaving his batting partner Dinesh Karthik at the other end as a mere spectator.
With that kind of score to chase, the pressure was always going to haunt the India A side, and it showed from ball one during the run chase. Vishnu Vinod connected with one and it went all the way, mishit the next and still found the fence, but missed the third one altogether and he was gone. Ishan Porel then dismissed Abhishek Raman and skipper Hanuma Vihari, before Devdutt Padikkal and Bhargav Merai stitched together a 57-run partnership. After Padikkal fell to Saxena in the 18th over, the rest of the batting order simply collapsed. Saxena ended the match with the best figures in the history of the competition.
India C will lock horns with India B in a dead rubber before they will meet again in the final on Monday.
